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APRIL 2008
The two albums considered here here have almost nothing in common, except some exceptional jazz playing. One is a project that encompasses continents and contrasting musical cultures, a project that, according to the producer, could only be done with the technology of the 21st Century. The other is a CD made by a quartet on a single day, in much the same spirit as countless other recording sessions since the early days of jazz (or at least since the advent of hi-fi and LPs) by classic independent jazz labels.
Miles From India: A Celebration of the Music of Miles Davis, a two-disc set produced by Bob Belden and issued on Times Square Records, brings together (sonically if not always geographically) Indian classical and jazz musicians with other players who worked with Miles Davis from the 1960s onward. Belden has fused and mixed sessions recorded in Mumbai and Madras with others done in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Moreover, some of the mixing studio magic he's concocted, magic rendered seamless by digital technology, pays direct tribute to Teo Macero's famous mixing and splicing on Miles Davis albums like On the Corner, Get Up with It, and Agartha. But Belden doesn't just use tunes from the electric-fusion Bitches Brew and later years, but also revisits classics from Kind of Blue.
Three Kind of Blue tunes are among this album's strongest and most focused tracks. "All Blues" begins with Ravi Chary's sitar, which continues as the lead melody instrument when the familiar horn riff begins, but over a 5/4 rhythm (shades of "Take Five") instead of the original 6/4. The track features Kind of Blue alumnus Jimmy Cobb, drums, and bassist Ron Carter; but solo honors go to the alto saxophonists Gary Bartz and Rudresh Mahanthappa and Indian jazz pianist Louiz Banks. "So What" gets to Carter's lead bass melodic kernel via a detour through Indian drumming, in 9/4, and wordless vocals, before becoming a showcase for a lyrical Chick Corea piano solo. Various skeins comprising Wallace Roney's Harmon-muted trumpet, Dillshad Khan's bowed sarangi (of the Indian violin/cello family) and Shankar Mahadeven's ululating vocals come together on "Blue in Green," a hypnotic mix that also includes Mike Stern's electric guitar solo.
Roney serves as a familiar touchstone, with his Miles Davis-influenced trumpet sound, which anchors the album's longest and most ambitiously symphonic track, "Spanish Key." Here the piece that originally appeared on Bitches Brew layers the sounds of seven Indian and seven American musicians carried forward with a compelling momentum from Indian percussion and drummer Lenny White at his most persuasive. For 20 minutes, "Spanish Key" is a multifaceted delight that never flags. Roney's trumpet also centers "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down," another track energized by Indian polyrhythms as well as Pete Cosey's idiosyncratic, striated electric guitar lines. "Ife" is presented in a fast, Indian rhythms dominated track as well as a slow version led by Roney's Harmon muted horn, solos from Dave Liebman playing tenor and Bartz on soprano, along with contrasting, overlapping cultural atmosphere from Badal Roy's tabla drums and Cosey's high fret guitar.
Voices and a skittering flute plus pairs of keyboardists and drummers, a bassist and guitarist Stern easily define, even without a trumpet, the catchy infectious strains of "Jean Pierre," one of Miles' concert favorites during his last decade. The jazz-rock 8/8 beat and the double-tracked drums of Vince Wilburn make "Great Expectations" closest to the Davis of that last decade, with Roney for emphasis and a creative surprise in Adam Holzman's acoustic piano solo shadowed by obligati from Marcus Miller's bass clarinet. The album ends with an elegiac "Miles From India," composed and produced by guitarist John McLaughlin, who's joined by pianist Banks, vocalist Sikkil Gurucharan and mandolinist U. Shrinivas, all passing around lead solos as if sharing a communion cup.
Grant Stewart's Young at Heart (Sharp Nine) is a quartet date featuring the leader's tenor sax with the faultless and stimulating rhythm section of pianist Tardo Hammer, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Joe Farnsworth. Although a one-day session which includes, according to the notes, more than a few first takes, it impresses as a well-conceived and executed session. There's suede and smoke in Stewart's tone, as well as a warm legato glow to his delivery on ballads, making his sound singular and distinctive and definitely not beholden to dominant tenor sax schools out of Coltrane, Brecker or Shorter.
Stewart knows how to caress a ballad. "You're My Thrill" and the de-tropicalized bossa "Modinha" are sumptuously, yearningly limned. But he's also capable of driving swing, as on Duke Ellington's "Serenade to Sweden" and his own, "Sweet Georgia Brown"-based, "Shades of Jackie Mac." His tune choices are also stellar, from Elmo Hope's forgotten hard-bopper "Roll On" to Neal Hefti's challenging "Repetition," made famous by Charlie Parker.
Musicians heard on the "Miles From India" project CD convene for a concert at Town Hall on May 9. Meanwhile, Grant Stewart leads a quintet that includes drummer Farnsworth, trumpeter Ryan Kisor and pianist David Hazeltine at Smoke on May 9-10. (Stewart can also be heard as a member of pianist Jon Mayer's quartet at Kitano on May 8, and at Smalls with guitarist Joe Cohn on May 20 and 27.)
SPOTLIGHT BY PAUL BLAIR AND George KanzlerRAY VEGA
IRIDIUM/MAY 28-JUNE 1
Better wear tropical-weight clothing, since these Latin jazz all-stars tend to summon up unseasonable heat. Leading the charge at this "For Hilton and Mario" salute will be trumpeter Vega, a South Bronx native who's been part of bands fronted by Tito Puente, Ray Barretto and more. His latest CD for Palmetto (Squeeze, Squeeze) is a beaut. Joining the fray at Iridium: Claudio Roditi, trumpet; David Sanchez and Jorge Castro, sax; Steve Turre and Jimmy Bosch, trombone; David Valentin, flute; Arturo O'Farrill, piano; Yunior Terry, bass; percussion Pete Escovedo, Chembo Corniel and Phoenix Rivera. PBTOM HARRELL
VILLAGE VANGUARD/MAY 13-18
Trumpeter Harrell first came to prominence as a surprisingly personal voice in Mel Lewis' Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, then in the quintets of Horace Silver (in the mid-70s) and Phil Woods (through much of the 1980s). The latter has said of him: "I've played with some great musicians and I've never played with anyone better than Tom Harrell." He's been leading his own quintet, featuring his own uncommonly lyrical and harmonically sophisticated compositions, since 1989, playing numerous times at the Vanguard. His current lineup includes Wayne Escoffery, tenor sax; Danny Grissett, piano; Ugona Okewgo, bass, and Jonathan Blake, drums. GKBIRELI LAGRENE
ROSE THEATER/MAY 2 AND 3
The world first marveled at guitarist Lagrene when he emerged at thirteen, sounding eerily like Django Reinhardt. He subsequently veered away from the gypsy sound to experiment with jazz fusion, even cutting a 1986 LP with Jaco Pastorious. Lately, though, he seems to have rediscovered the pleasures of playing standards. Just The Way You Are, a Sony CD released last year, amply displays his manifold talents. For this celebration of Reinhardt and Charlie Christian the lineup also includes guitarists Bobby Broom and Russell Malone, both stylistic descendents of Christian, with the Mulgrew Miller-Peter Washington-Lewis Nash rhythm team. PBGREG COHEN
BARGEMUSIC/MAY 15
There simply aren't many musicians able to play convincingly one night with Ornette Coleman, Dave Douglas or Bill Frisell, then sound just as invigoratingly fresh the next evening in some radically different revivalist group led by Vince Giordano or Marty Grosz. But bassist Cohen is one of them. Among others who've utilized his talents are Lou Reed, John Zorn, Laurie Anderson, Tom Waits and the Rolling Stones. That kind of versatility promises some good times at this BargeMusic date, since there'll be just two musicians featured - and the other is saxophonist-clarinetist Ken Peplowski, someone equally comfortable in numerous musical camps. PBVICTOR LEWIS
TRIBECA PAC/MAY 16
Lewis has been a much-in-demand drummer since he emerged on the scene in the mid-1970s. Among the stellar leaders seeking him out have been Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, Kenny Barron and Bobby Hutcherson. He also co-led the quintet Horizon with Bobby Watson. At this Lost Jazz Shrines concert honoring the old Jazz Forum, he'll be saluting the late trumpeter Woody Shaw, whose bands he anchored for half a decade. Expect some of the alternate time signatures and harmonic challenges that Shaw himself favored, as Lewis' rhythm section puts young trumpeters Sean Jones and Ryan Kisor through their paces. GKANNE METTE IVERSEN
JAZZ GALLERY/MAY 24
She's Danish-born but now a Red Hook resident. Iverson's new double-disc Brooklyn Jazz Underground release called Best Of The West + Many Places showcases her writing and playing in two contexts: with a quartet (saxophonist John Ellis, pianist Danny Grissett and drummer Otis Brown III) and with that same foursome plus the members of the 4Corners string quartet. By turns rhapsodic and pulsing, it's a most impressive package. Any chance to hear all eight players perform a selection of these pieces live would be welcome - and that's precisely why this Jazz Gallery engagement is an enticing prospect. PBPHAROAH SANDERS
BIRDLAND/MAY 13-17
One of the generation of tenor saxophonists who were acolytes of John Coltrane, in whose groups he performed in the mid-1960s (and later with Alice Coltrane after John's death), Sanders was influenced by the free jazz and spiritually questing late-Coltrane style, to which he added an incantatory Eastern flavor borrowed from the Near East and Asia. Once known for his coarse overblowing and ecstatic wailing, Sanders has, in more recent years, delved into the more harmonically and melodically controlled traditions of swing and bebop. He's even recorded with hard bop master Benny Golson. As a result, this gig could have a wide stylistic range. GKMARTY EHRLICH
JAZZ STANDARD/MAY 8-11
Woodwinds ace Marty Ehrlich is as talented a composer and orchestrator as he is an improviser. Over four nights he'll lead two contrasting groups: a Thurs-Fri quartet (with James Zollar, trumpet; Erik Friedlander, cello; and Pheeroan akLaff, drums), and then a Sat-Sun sextet (Zollar again plus Ray Anderson's trombone; David Berkman's piano; Greg Cohen's bass and Matt Wilson doing the drumming). With whom has Ehrlich played over the years? A partial list includes George Russell, Chico Hamilton, Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake, Andrew Hill, Muhal Richard Abrams and John Zorn. That's an honor roll of modernist masters. PBCONRAD HERWIG
BLUE NOTE/MAY 27 AND 28
Among the most rewarding CDs in recent years have been those under trombonist Herwig's leadership on which he recasts themes associated with Miles Davis, Gil Evans and John Coltrane into imaginative Latin frameworks. The latest in this ongoing series is 2008's The Latin Side of Wayne Shorter (Half Note Records), certain to appear on many writers' Year's-Best lists. At least as stimulating has been a series of more boppish small group recordings on the Criss Cross label. Herwig's a polished big band vet, having served with the Buddy Rich, Toshiko Akiyoshi and Mel Lewis outfits, and a well-respected teacher. PBTOBIA GEBBS TRIO WEST
KITANO/MAY 7
An Upper West Side Story, the new CD by drummer Tobias Gebb's Trio West, is a joy, full of catchy tunes given imaginative treatments by players at the very top of their games: bassist Neal Miner and pianist Eldad Zvulun, with saxist Joel Frahm and singer Champian Fulton guesting on several cuts. The title's a reference to Augie's, the long-gone UWS bar where both Gebb and Miner did some early playing. The whole gang heard on the album will be present at Kitano. But when Gebb's trio plays Smalls on May 31, Frahm will be replaced by two other hornmen, Wayne Escoffery and Ron Blake. PB
JAZZ IN JERSEY BY SHEILA ANDERSONNATALIE COLE
BERGEN PAC/MAY 14 and COMMUNITY THEATRE/MAY 16
An eight-time Grammy Award winner, the unforgettable Natalie Cole, whose music has an inherent ease, an innate knowing and musical richness, comes to Englewood. Born into to a legendary musical family that also included her father Nat and her uncle Freddy, this versatile and soulful singer's talents catapulted her years ago into well-deserved stardom. Blessed with a beautifully fluid amber voice - and no longer living in the shadow of her famous dad - she'll likely display her considerable artistry on songs like "Pink Cadillac," "Miss You Like Crazy," "I Got Love On My Mind" and "Our Love." Look for this concert to sell out.ARMEN DONELIAN
SHANGHAI JAZZ/MAY 21 and TRUMPETS/MAY 24
"A pianist with a crystalline touch and a penchant for avant gardism" - that's how one New York Times reviewer characterized him. He's equally comfortable in trios, in small groups with horns and as a soloist. Donelian's work sometimes reflects influences from the Armenian, Turkish and Greek traditions, as well as lessons learned from masters like Armstrong, Tatum, Ellington, Monk and Parker. He's gigged in the past with Sonny Rollins, Chet Baker, Paquito d'Rivera, Mongo Santamaria and Billy Harper. This appearance will serve to launch Oasis, a new Sunnyside CD with bassist David Clark and drummer George Schuller.DANNY MIXON
CECIL'S/MAY 23 AND 24
Harlem-born and Brooklyn-bred, keyboardist Mixon worked early on with Joe Lee Wilson, Betty Carter, Charles Mingus and Dannie Richmond. He's played organ at Brooklyn's Baby Grand with saxophonist Carlos Garnett - and backed singer Big Mabelle at the old Blue Coronet. More recently, he's been part of Frank Foster's Loud Minority Big Band. And would you believe that he started out as a tapper at uptown's Ruth Williams Dance Studio, where he was known as "The Show Stopper"? He's still dancing, in a way - up and down keyboards. He'll play organ this time out, with James Stewart on saxophone and George Gray doing the drumming.PAUL MEYERS
BETHANY BAPTIST CHURCH/MAY 3
An eloquent and facile jazz guitarist equally comfortable in varied musical settings, Meyers first established himself on the New York scene in the 80s, playing and/or recording with Ron Carter, Sonny Fortune, Eddie Gomez, Wynton Marsalis, Frank Wess, Kenny Barron, Ray Drummond, Kenny Werner and Woody Herman. Singers value his tasteful accompaniment, too; he's toured with Jon Hendricks, Annie Ross, Andy Bey, and Vera Mara. Studies with Jaki Byard and Gene Bertoncini encouraged him to do more writing and arranging. Hearing a Baden-Powell record spurred his intense interest in Brazilian music. He'll bring his current group to Bethany's Jazz Vespers series.
GERALD WILSON: ONWARD AND UPWARD by Paul Blair
Few jazz figures manage to retain their talent, their stamina and their enthusiasm for the music into their ninth decades. But Los Angeles-based arranger Gerald Wilson certainly has. In fact, this NEA Jazz Master is about to enter a tenth decade (he turns ninety on September 4) and remains eager to undertake new projects.
Born in Mississippi, he graduated (as did numerous other jazz world notables) from Detroit's Cass Tech High School and eventually joined Jimmy Lunceford's acclaimed band on trumpet in 1939, replacing Sy Oliver as both hornman and arranger. "I did charts for tunes like 'Hi Spook' and 'Yard Dog Mazurka' for Jimmy," he says on the phone from Los Angeles. "Then after some months in Les Hite's band and then Benny Carter's band, I joined the Navy and had chances to play with musicians like Clark Terry, Jimmy Nottingham and Willie Smith. Once I was mustered out, I formed a band of my own with Joe Williams as featured vocalist, did some arranging for Basie and finally settled in Southern California, which I'd first seen during tours with Lunceford."
Hipper radio listeners first began to hear Wilson in the early 60s, thanks to a series of best-selling albums by his California-based big band on the Pacific Jazz label. (Remember the insinuating "Blues for Yna Yna" with organist Groove Holmes?) Soon, he was also penning arrangements for Ellington's orchestra (among them, "When I'm Feeling Kind of Blue," "Imagine My Frustration," "Isle of Capri," "Smile" and "If I Give My Heart To You"), offering workshops for school kids and teaching university-level jazz study courses at Cal State Northridge and UCLA. Over the years, he's also written things for Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Carter, Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington.
These days, commissions continue to come his way. Since he's frequently been a Monterey Jazz Festival headliner, festival organizers had him compose extended works marking that event's twentieth and fortieth anniversaries. To commemorate the Monterey's fiftieth in 2007, Wilson put together "Monterey Moods," then recorded it with a New York ensemble for the Mack Avenue label. It's a seven-piece suite with many elements based on three notes representing the three syllables in the word "Mon-te-rey." Some of the album's most solid solos come, incidentally, from a guitarist named Anthony Wilson, who's been enjoying considerable success with groups of his own and just happens to be Gerald's son.
Despite his longtime presence in L.A., Wilson remains a familiar face in New York, his hometown during those Lunceford years ("I used to live on Hamilton Terrace in Harlem," he recalls, "right down the block from Mary Lou Williams' apartment."). He returns this month for a special Jazz at Lincoln Center program honoring Ellington. "I'll be conducting the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra as they play several of my arrangements of Duke's tunes: 'Sophisticated Lady,' 'Don't Get Around Much Anymore' and 'Perdido' for sure. That last arrangement was first recorded by Duke's band in the late 60s and I was actually in the trumpet section at the session. In fact, I did a bit of subbing in the band during a couple of tours up and down the West Coast around that time, with stops in places like San Bernardino, Pismo Beach and Disneyland. Yes, those were the days! Altogether, Duke's book included maybe fourteen or fifteen of my arrangements. Anyway, the Juilliard orchestra will also play several other Ellington numbers that I didn't arrange. And then I'll conduct the finale from my newest Monterey suite - the one heard on the CD."
It'll be yet another busy year for Wilson. If you happen to be at Hollywood Bowl on July 30, you'll see him there, being feted at a ninetieth birthday celebration at which Hank Jones will also be honored. Gerald Wilson admirers like Jon Faddis, Bobby Hutcherson and Christian McBride will be present as well. Look for Wilson, too, at the Chicago Jazzfest on August 30. They've asked him to compose a special piece for that event. He'll probably return to New York to record that one at a later date.
So is Wilson ready to retire? His answer is both emphatic and succinct: "Not at this time!" he says with a laugh.Gerald Wilson conducts the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola on May 13-18.
LEW TABACKIN: TWO MUSICAL PERSONAS by Ken Dryden
"I didn't come from a musical fam-ily; I started on my own," says tenor saxophonist and flute player Lew Tabackin. "I grew up in South Philadelphia, where schools would loan instruments and provide teachers. They gave me a flute and a horrible teacher who taught everything wrong, I didn't even hold it properly. But I fooled around with it and kept at it. I played it through junior high and in the high school orchestra and, as a result, got a scholarship to go to what was then the Philadelphia Conservatory. I'd started playing tenor at fifteen, but you couldn't major in saxophone. While I was there, I wasn't really interested in flute because I was out trying to play jazz tenor. Still, during my last year, I finally got a very good teacher who was first flautist with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
"Once I got out of school, I began listening mostly to classical flute players, because I was never that attracted to jazz flute, though I enjoyed hearing Frank Wess. I started to form a tonal concept. I tried to learn the flute the way I learned the saxophone, by listening to records and taking certain qualities of the people I liked. After moving to New York in 1965, I started playing around town and ended up in some bands. Chuck Israels had a group then and, because he knew I played flute, he'd write stuff for me. I started to develop concepts of improvisation, though I wouldn't quite call it jazz since it wasn't a bebop-oriented approach. I'd take French Impressionist music and utilize those ideas in improvisation.
"In 1967, I started working in trios with just bass and drums. This has been my main focus for all these years. In the beginning, I was probably too self-indulgent. But after forty years of working on it, I think I've finally got it right. It's my favorite format because there's a certain transparency that you can't get with a chordal instrument involved. There's also intimate communication that's made possible by omitting a piano."
Tabackin met pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi in 1968 while playing with her in a quartet. They eventually married and he became primary soloist in her new orchestra. "When Toshiko came into the picture," he recalls, "she wrote a lot of narrative music that told stories, so I tried to use narrative concepts when I played, I wasn't just playing changes in my solos. Her compositions dealt with Japanese themes, so I listened to Japanese music and developed a sort of quasi-Zen approach.
"Although tenor has such a great tradition in jazz, it's difficult to achieve a distinctive sound. On the other hand, because flute isn't really a primary jazz instrument, I've been free to come up with an approach that's totally mine. It's not easy to balance the two instruments because they're really great enemies. I play tenor pretty physically, but then on flute I have to sound like a real flute player. I try to set the standard high, but it's a challenge I have to deal with. It also helps create variety in a program. Today's audiences don't get the jokes or have as broad a listening background as those of the past. I always try to balance the program so I don't leave the audience in the dust. I also play alto flute, though I haven't played it much lately.
"Toshiko and I are going to Japan in May doing a duo tour. We've recorded for a Japanese label and once in a while we perform with a quartet. Yet we both have our own concepts, so we both have to compromise when we play in a quartet. We're each working on our own music, so we try to balance it out. We maintain our separate worlds.
"When I have to have a tune for a recording, I squeeze my brain to write. My song 'Desert Lady' was inspired by a film of a book. I find it easy to create melodies while I'm playing and then try to formalize them, though I sometimes have to work hard. Sometimes I hear quasi-lyrics, like when I wrote 'Broken Dreams,' I heard a male voice singing it. Other times, I fool around and come up with a simple motif to develop. 'A Bit Byas'd' was inspired by the Don Byas-Slam Stewart record of 'Indiana.' I worked with Slam on occasion and got him to play 'Indiana' with me as a duo."
Over the past few years, Tabackin's recordings as a leader have been less frequent. "I intended to follow up Tenority with an all-flute CD, but I was dropped by Concord. The few offers I had from other record companies were silly. Last year my group played a radio broadcast from a Paris club and I felt the recording was quite nice, with the second set being really special, so now I'd like to find someone to release it."The trio that Lew Tabackin brings into Smalls on May 9-10 also includes bassist Boris Kosovo and drummer Anthony Pinocetti.
JAZZWOMEN! BY ELZY KOLBFaith in full swing
Bassoonist Monica Ellis is 20% of the chamber wind quintet Imani Winds. The group, named after the Swahili word for "faith," is as likely to play something by Herbie Hancock or Paquito d'Rivera as compositions by Ravel or Hindemith. Monica says, "Our approach and technique are classical. But in our interpretation we try to have something different happen. We try to prevent our music from becoming stale and staid." Besides Monica, Imani Winds includes Valerie Coleman on flute, Toyin Spellman-Diaz on oboe, Mariam Adam on clarinet, and Jeff Scott on French horn. Asked if all of those instruments can swing, Monica laughs heartily. "It's difficult to play jazz on our instruments," she says. However, "If it hadn't worked, we would've given up by now." She says the group chooses music they like, "then it's up to us to execute it, to step up to the plate and figure out how to make it happen." Imani Winds appears with the Brubeck Brothers Quartet at the Jazz Standard on May 22.Reading into it
Ever since she delved into Peggy Lee's autobiography, Jody Sandhaus has been focusing on a less-recognized side of her fellow singer. "She was an amazing person, from a terrible family life," Jody says. "I was enchanted by everything about her, so I started doing a lot of research, not about songs she sang, but about songs she wrote. I am still coming up with tunes and searching for things." Jody will probably include some of the material she's unearthed on her upcoming CD, scheduled for fall release. Music has been part of Jody's life from the get-go. Going out with her parents to hear music and to musical theater was a regular part of her upbringing. "We forget that kids just don't get to see people perform live anymore. If they see somebody, it's like singing on MTV: It's a theatrical experience. They don't see people playing the piano with somebody singing at the same time. Everything is always so overdone for mass audiences." She'll be part of a kid-friendly event at Symphony Space on May 10: the NYC premiere of "The Good Shepherd." It's a suite for gospel choir and jazz orchestra, written by Jody's husband, Pete Malinverni, to be performed by the Purchase Jazz Orchestra and an 82-voice choir.
Congrats to
Bassist Kim Clarke, who will be honored by the Elmcor Alumni Association at a scholarship awards dinner at Terrace on the Park on May 2; Kim appears with Kit McClure's Big Band at the Hilton at Short Hills on May 31 Singer Antoinette Montague has received the NAACP's ACT-SO Distinctive Service Award; catch her at the Blue Note's Sunday brunch on May 11, or dress appropriately for her Safari Party at the Lenox Lounge's Zebra Room on May 30-31 Pianist/composer/bandleader Diane Moser has been accepted as an artist-in-residence at the MacDowell Colony, where she'll write music for a CD she plans to record for the CIMP label on her birthday, July 29; Diane's Composers Big Band appears at Trumpets on May 28 Pianist Geri Allen has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for music composition Vibraphonist and composer Cecilia Smith has received a Joyce Award for a long-term academic residency Guitarist Amanda Monaco has signed with LateSet Records.
CD celebrations
Share One Love (Flat Nine) with singer Taeko Fukao at Cachaca on May 3 Pianist Sumi Tonooka plays Long Ago Today (ARC); she'll be at the Teaneck Public Library with Rufus Reid on May 4 Vocalist Shea Breaux Wells has A Blind Date with a smokin' band at Iridium on May 21 Singer Rosa Passos focuses on Romance (Telarc) at the Allen Room on May 23-24.
Gig alert!
Early-bird special: Hilary Kole sings with Andy Farber's orchestra at Birdland every Sunday at 6 Catch baritone saxophonist Carol Sudhalter at McCann's every Thursday Ayelet Rose Gottlieb sings with Bobby McFerrin at Carnegie Hall on May 2; she's on her own at PS 122 on May 8-10 Maucha Adnet sings Jobim's music at Dizzy's through May 4 Norwegian saxophonist Froy Aagre is a special guest with Annette A. Aguilar's StringBeans Quintet at the Nuyorican Poets Cafι on May 4 Voicist Barbara Sfraga and pianist/keyboardist/vocalist Mala Waldron appear with the Timelessness Project at the Nuyorican Poets Cafι on May 6 Catch violinist Regina Carter at Birdland on May 7-10 Amy Cervini and Melissa Stylianou sing at the Cornelia Street Cafι on May 8 Vocalist Tessa Souter will be at the 55 Bar on May 9 Happy Mother's Day: Vocalist Corina Bartra and the Azu Project are at the Flushing Library on May 11 Katie Bull sings at the 55 Bar on May 15 Saxophonist "Sweet" Sue Terry joins singer Lauri Krauz at Enzo's on May 16 Make your enthusiasm heard when vocalist Gretchen Parlato is filmed for Japanese TV on May 18 at Cachaca Jo Lawry sings with Fred Hersch at the Jazz Standard on May 20-21 Violinist Sara Caswell plays the Goddard-Riverside Center on May 20, and Symphony Space on May 23 Lisa Hearns sings at Enzo's on May 28; bassist MaryAnn McSweeney joins vocalist Jane Stuart at the same venue on May 30 Pianist Liz Magnus plays at BargeMusic on May 29 Don't miss Nnenna Freelon and a host of greats at the 7th annual Great Night In Harlem concert at the Apollo Theater, benefiting the Jazz Foundation of America.
Recent releases
Vocalist Carmen Lundy is backed by a hot band which includes percussionist Mayra Casales and pianist Geri Allen on Come Home (Afrasia) You gotta love vocalist Lorraine Feather's command of Language (Jazzed Media) Violinist Jenny Scheinman is Crossing the Field (Koch) Patrice Rushen plays keyboards on vocalist Karen Blixt's Mad Hope (HiFli) Kali Z. Fasteau plays soprano, piano and a flock of other instruments Live at the Kerava Jazz Festival: Finland (Flying Note) Pianist Connie Crothers and clarinetist Bill Payne are engaged in fascinating Conversations (New Artists) Diane Hoffman sings of My Little French Dancer Vocalist Kenia is Simply (Mooka) Brazilian Singer Susie Arioli's new CD/DVD was recorded Live at Le Festival International de Jazz de Montreal (JustinTime) Jil Aigrot sings Words of Love (LML) Check out bassist Brandi Disterheft's Debut (Superfran) Painter Georgia O'Keeffe inspired pianist Claire Ritter's Waltzing the Splendor (Zoning) Susan Krebs sings unusual material, much of it bird-related, on Jazz Aviary (GreenGig) Baby Jane Dexter sings standards of several genres on You're Following Me! Singer Dianne Reeves has just released When You Know (Blue Note) The Tamela D'Amico Album features the singer along with a big band and big show production values.
HOT FLASHES BY PAUL BLAIRWHO'S WHERE AND WHEN
Hear Jeb Patton at Flushing Town Hall on May 2 - or David Sanborn at Tarrytown Music Hall On May 3, you can catch Pete Robbins at Cornelia Street and/or Chris Byars at Dizzy's; each has issued an outstanding new album; and David Murray finishes a four-night stint at Birdland ... The last evening of Frank Wess' six nights at the Vanguard is May 4 while Lisle Ellis' bass work underlines the group at Zebulon Guitarist Piers Lawrence hosts a CD release gathering at Iridium on May 7 Fred Hersch gigs with saxist/composer Jim Gailloreto at BargeMusic on May 8, then leads a most unconventional quartet at the Jazz Standard on May 20-21 The Bronx Latin All-Stars appear at the Brooklyn Conservatory on May 10 Ben Sidran mounts the Jazz Standard bandstand on May 5, 12 and 19, with different guest artists each evening Ahmad Jamal's the Blue Note headliner on May 6-11 It's John Ellis at the Jazz Standard on May 13-14 - and Pharoah Sanders at Birdland on May 13-17 Ryan Kisor does Smalls on May 16-17 Hayes Greenfield presents his "Jazz for a Green Planet" program at the Highland Ballroom on May 18 Pianist Marcin Wasilewski (you've heard him with Tomasz Stanko) launches a new ECM disc at Birdland on May 20 Armen Donelian's trio does Kitano on May 22 Alexis Cuadrado's quartet with Loren Stillman, Brad Shepik and Mark Ferber introduces material from an outstanding new Brooklyn Jazz Underground CD at the Jazz Standard on May 23 A film crew will document banjoist Cynthia Sayer's May 26 set at Smalls for inclusion in a PBS docco Vibraphonist Dan McCarthy, who leads a foursome called Tucksy, plays tunes from a new album at Cornelia Street on May 29 And the Lost Jazz Shrines series at Tribeca Performing Arts Center continues with a May 30 show called "Remembering Betty Carter & Joe Williams," with Vanessa Rubin and Allan Harris among the artists paying tribute. Arrive at 7:00 PM to take in the humanities dialogue and video footage that usually precedes these concerts.
REGULARS
Pianist Jesse Elder can be heard Mondays through Fridays at Destino's, with guest vocalists frequently sitting in On the strength of their new Jazzed Media release, the hardbopping Garden State standouts billed as the Stein Brothers have booked a four-night two-state tour that will take them to The Cellar on Staten Island (May 15), The Priory in Newark (May 16), Smalls in Greenwich Village (May 17) and Shanghai Jazz in Madison (May 18) Vince Giordano's delightful Nighthawks big band plays three sets each Monday at Sofia's, situated downstairs at the Edison Hotel, beginning on May 5; with dancing encouraged Flautist Ali Ryerson is slated for Tuesday gigs throughout May at Fetch, on the Upper East Side And did you know that an ad hoc group of Latin musicians jam together on the first Wednesday of every month at Willie's Steakhouse in the Bronx? And there's Latin jazz on many other nights as well.
OVER IN JOISEY
Sorry, that's Jersey. The Garden State is home to many of our best musicians and boasts a vibrant club scene, too. Now consider these unusual May offerings. An arts organization called Jazz House Kids presents colloquies with outstanding players on four Thursdays (7:00 PM) at the Montclair Public Library. Here's your chance to meet and question pianist Norman Simmons (May 1), bassist Christian McBride (May 8), drummer Billy Hart (May 15) and saxophonist Oliver Lake (May 22). It's free and you don't have to be a kid - though youngsters will certainly get a lot out of programs like this "Home Field Advantage" is what they're calling a series of experimental 8:00 PM jazz concerts at the Toy Eaters Gallery in Jersey City each Friday this month. That venue is just a block from the Grove St. PATH station, making it easy to reach from Manhattan. The lineup looks highly promising, with a Tony Malaby/William Parker/Nasheet Waits trio kicking things off on May 2. Twelve bucks or less per head. Consult www.my space.com/toyeaters for the full sked.
RED-LETTER DATES
The Jazz Foundation of America has announced its 7th annual "Great Night in Harlem" benefit concert on May 29 at the Apollo Theater. This year's gala will feature over fifty jazz, gospel and blues stars, introduced by cohosts Bill Cosby and Danny Glover. These are always memorable events with loads of surprises - and the cause is definitely a worthy one, since the JFA provides emergency assistance and long-term support to jazz and blues musicians. For update check www.jazzfoundation.org - but purchase tickets ASAP The East Village's Nuyorican Poets Cafι marks its 35th anniversary with a May 3 program at Town Hall that'll include Rome Neal performing with his Banana Puddin' Trio, along with a bunch of special guests. After this gala, everyone heads downtown to NPC itself for a celebration that'll likely last many more hours You're aware, perhaps, that the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians has a New York chapter. If so, note that a 7:00 PM program on May 9 at the Community Church of New York (40 E. 35th St.) will include not only music by three AACM stalwarts (Muhal Richard Abrams, Wadada Leo Smith and George Lewis) but also a panel discussion involving Lewis, Smith, Henry Threadgill, Amina Claudine Myers and others - with signed copies of George's new book available Though we strive to avoid using the phrase "jazz icon" in these pages, the photographs of Herman Leonard definitely qualify for that status. That's why you'll likely be both excited and moved by an exhibition of Leonard prints on view at the Morrison Hotel Gallery (124 Prince St.) between May 10 and June 1 The four Iridium evenings (May 22-25) honoring jazz traditions established by the late Jackie McLean actually involve two different groups. Among the participants are Rene McLean, Charles Tolliver, Grachan Moncur, Steve Davis, Steve Nelson, Jack DeJohnette and Amiri Baraka. But there are others as well; sort it all out by visiting Iridium's website Each year, high school musicians from across the country gather at Lincoln Center for the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival. After two full days of immersion in workshops, jam sessions, rehearsals and competition performances, the three top-placing ensembles get to perform with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in the final Saturday evening concert at Avery Fisher Hall. Free tickets for the daytime sessions on May 16-17 can be obtained at the J@LC box office, though availability is limited ... Kevin Mahogany, Dave Liebman, Terell Stafford, Ralph Peterson and Randy Weston are among the attractions at this year's Central Pennsylvania Friends of Jazz festival being held in Harrisburg. Altogether, it's four days of pleasure. Info: www.cpfj.org Finally, the late bassist Dennis Irwin will be remembered at a 1:00 PM memorial service being held on May 13 at Riverside Church (490 Riverside Dr.). All are welcome.